Contact Maryann directly to arrange for a rod cutting session here from the Labyrinth between November and March  each winter. In March there are cuttings available for planting which can be shipped. There are currently 7 varieties  available. Send an inquiry email to borchfam@hotmail.com with your requests.
Scroll below for order forms, photos of varieties and planting instructions. 
Both Knives and Awls are available for purchase during in class sessions.  
Willow cuttings for planting are available at the farm in March and April. $2 each, 7 varieties available.
​   Best to see them up close! Here is the order form

​​Willow Varieties

Rae’s Tall – These are the first Willows I received from my mentor, Rae Hunter. She had them growing in her wild and wonderful garden as you descend the curvy staircase. They are tall and green. They grow taller than 8 feet when grown alone, ideal for living willow fences and garden trellises and when grown in tight rows, they grow thin and long for basket weaving.
Rae’s mix – These were a mix I received from Rae and only a few of them did well in our frost hollow.  So, I propagated the vigorous ones and they do beautifully now. These are a light brown and have dark red bud scales. Haha sometimes … a true mix.
Oregon Americana – I received these as a gift from Frances in Ontario as she was trimming hers. She gave me enough to finish an entire path in our labyrinth. They have been there for four years so far and some can get quite branchy, so I use those for trellis and the unbranched ones are lovely and flexible for basketry.
Rae’s Yellow, aka Golden Willow – These are the biggest ones I have. They start a bright yellow and fade through orange to red on the tips. Half of each bush is very branchy, to the point that I can usually use those branches in my baskets. Rae thinks these are “Golden Willow”; also available in Shelterbelt programs. Hers is now a huge multi trunked tree. 
Streamco – these are my most recent available. They are a nice pale green, when grown here at Good Note.  Very fine and lovely for basketry.
Frances Red - These follow the naming tradition as well…. If you lose track, name them after the person you got them from.  These are now continent-wide, known as Frances’ Red.  (she’s in Ontario). They are a beautiful deep rusty red. Tall and thin for baskets as well. Many in this row perished from the too wet summer of 2020, so limited numbers available.
Hutchinson’s Yellow - I had only one in the row succeed and it is now so vigorous that I am glad there weren’t more of them. I feel like it is just like Rae’s yellow, in that it grows large, and branchy enough that the branches are useful in the first year. There are a limited number of these cuttings available.
Last year was extremely dry (unlike the previous 2 years). We are certainly learning about the resilience of willow. The Plantings from last year looked like they were doing well as we headed into winter, so I have hopes that much of the willow labyrinth is now finished with a couple patches needing some filling.  The other Sally gardens have managed to stay alive and I hope for them to do well this coming year now that they are two years old.  I hope for Purple Dicks, Green Dicks and Dicky Meadows to offer in coming years. 
 
​Instructions for Planting your Willow Cuttings
 
Plan for your Sally Garden to be in the same location for years and years. They will be hard to remove once established. Prepare the area first with a layer of weed barrier: either landscape fabric, repurposed lumber tarps or cardboard and mulch or wood chips and a convenient rock at each cutting location.  The rock directs the rain and/or your watering can water into the hole where the cutting is and also keeps the weed barrier from lifting and hiding the cutting underneath.  A brick would also serve this function.
 
Soak your willows overnight in water the day before you plan to plant. Ideally that is within 2 days of receiving the cuttings. Do keep them in the fridge and dormant, covered in plastic or a damp cloth, until you can get them in the ground.
 
I use a piece of rebar or a large screwdriver and a large hammer to make a hole through the weed barrier that is 10 inches deep.  The cutting will go in right side up. The leaf scales are showing you by “pointing” which way is up. It looks like this:   ^   Leave at least two or three bud scales above ground and the rest of the rod can go through the weed barrier and mulch and into the soil.   That soil must be moist at all times for the first year. After that, the bush may withstand some dry periods.
 
To create conditions of slim, unbranched weaving rods it is recommended to plant your cuttings and hence your bushes, close together. 10 inches (or 25 cm) apart within rows and 20 inches (or 50 cm) between rows. Our Labyrinth is 3 feet between rows and 8 inches between plants. 
 
If you are needing to get them planted before your garden area is ready, you may plant in pots, and water regularly. They will grow, less vigorously, but they will stay alive, until you can get them in the ground once roots have established, late summer early fall.   It is best if those pots are quite deep. And water in at least the bottom few inches at all times.